Because of increasing popularity, there is an ongoing need to extend the range of wireless local area networks (WLAN), including but not limited to WLANs described and specified in the 802.11, 802.16 and 802.20 standards. While the specifications of products using the above standard wireless protocols commonly indicate data rates on the order of, for example, 11 MBPS and ranges on the order of, for example, 100 meters, these performance levels are rarely, if ever, realized. Performance shortcomings between actual and specified performance levels have many causes including attenuation of the radiation paths of RF signals, which are typically in the range of 2.4 GHz or 5.8 GHz in an operating environment such as an indoor environment. Base or AP to receiver or client ranges are generally less than the coverage range required in a typical home, and may be as little as 10 to 15 meters. Further, in structures having split floor plans, such as ranch style or two story homes, or those constructed of materials capable of attenuating RF signals, areas in which wireless coverage is needed may be physically separated by distances outside of the range of, for example, an 802.11 protocol based system. Attenuation problems may be exacerbated in the presence of interference in the operating band, such as interference from other 2.4 GHz devices or wideband interference with in-band energy. Still further, data rates of devices operating using the above standard wireless protocols are dependent on signal strength. As distances in the area of coverage increase, wireless system performance typically decreases. Lastly, the structure of the protocols themselves may affect the operational range.
One common practice in the mobile wireless industry to increase the range of wireless systems is through the use of repeaters. However, problems and complications arise in that for some systems and devices, receivers and transmitters operate at the same frequency as in a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) or WMAN (Wireless Metropolitan Area Network) utilizing, for example, 802.11 or 802.16 WLAN wireless protocols. In such systems, when multiple transmitters operate simultaneously, as would be the preferred case in repeater operation, difficulties arise. Other problems arise in that, for example, the random packet nature of typical WLAN protocols provides no defined receive and transmit periods. Because packets from each wireless network node are spontaneously generated and transmitted and are not temporally predictable packet collisions may occur. Some remedies exist to address such difficulties, such as, for example, collision avoidance and random back-off protocols, which are used to avoid two or more nodes transmitting packets at the same time. Under the 802.11 standard protocol, for example, a distributed coordination function (DCF) may be used for collision avoidance.
Such operation is significantly different than the operation of many other cellular repeater systems, such as those systems based on IS-136, IS-95 or IS-2000 standards, where the receive and transmit bands are separated by a deplexing frequency offset. Frequency division duplexing (FDD) operation simplifies repeater operation since conflicts associated with repeater operation, such as those arising in situations where the receiver and transmitter channels for all networked devices are on the same frequency, are not present.
An additional complication arising from the use of repeaters in WLAN environments is the random nature of data packet transmissions, which often occur in the various WLAN protocols. When a WLAN is functioning without centralized coordination as is typical, it is operating in accordance with a DCF as noted above. In DCF operation, packets initiated from each node on the wireless network are generated spontaneously with no predictable receive and transmit slots. Several mechanisms may be used to avoid collisions associated with communication units transmitting packets at the same time. Some mechanisms, referred to as Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) and the Network Allocation Vector (NAV), are used by the distributed coordination function (DCF), governing the primary “rules” for enabling the coordination of the transmission of random packets from different stations. Because transmissions in such an uncoordinated environment are unpredictable in that they may come at any time from any station, the challenge to repeater architectures is significant. An in addition to challenges associated with collisions, other challenges exist associated with, for example, feedback or the like on channels which are used by more than one repeater.
Although traditional repeaters, such as those used in IS-95 cellular systems, employ directional antennas and physical separation of receive and transmit antennas to achieve the necessary isolation to prevent oscillatory feedback, such a solution is not practical for WLAN repeaters. The combination of prohibitive costs and the fact that, for indoor environments, isolation is less effective because of reflections caused by objects in close proximity to the antennas, rule out such solutions for indoor WLAN repeaters. Thus, several known approaches to providing repeaters in WLANs, and specifically to providing 802.11 compliant repeaters include providing two Access Points (APs) in a box with a routing function between them; and providing a store and forward repeater (SF Repeater), both of which approaches are reflected in products available on the market today.
One system, described in International Application No. PCT/US03/16208, incorporated by reference herein, and commonly owned by the assignee of the present application, resolves many of the above identified problems by providing a repeater which isolates receive and transmit channels using a frequency detection and translation method. The WLAN repeater described therein allows two WLAN units to communicate by translating packets associated with one device at a first frequency channel to a second device using a second frequency channel. The direction associated with the translation or conversion, such as from the first frequency channel associated with the first device to the second frequency channel associated with the second device, or from the second frequency channel to the first frequency channel, depends upon a real time configuration of the repeater and the WLAN environment. For example, the WLAN repeater may be configured to monitor both frequency channels for transmissions and, when a transmission is detected, translate the signal received on the first frequency channel to the other frequency channel, where it is transmitted to the destination. It is important to note that the frequency translating repeater described in International Application No. PCT/US03/16208 acts in near real time to receive, boost and retransmit packets and while addressing many of the problems in the art, lacks capabilities such as store and forward.
Not only does an isolated frequency translating repeater such as that described in International Application No. PCT/US03/16208 solve many of the above described issues associated with asynchronous transmission, indeterminate packet length, and use of the same frequency for frequency transmission/reception, but such repeaters are additionally well suited for use in accordance with the 802.11a, e.g. the 5 GHz OFDM, standard which is currently the standard providing the highest data rate network, up to 54 MBPS, and the highest frequency, 5 GHz. While providing attractive data rate and frequency parameters, the 802.11a repeater is inherently limited in range. Problems arise due to the range limitations since, while many new applications involving video and audio are only possible using the higher performance available under 802.11a making the use of 802.11a compliant repeaters highly desirable, the range limitations hinder usefulness and limit widespread acceptance. Such limitations are disappointing since the 802.11a frequency bands are well suited for frequency translation for the above mentioned reasons, and due to the significant amount of allocated spectrum available for use within the band. It should be noted that there are presently 12 802.11a compatible frequency channels available in the US with another 12 planned for allocation by the FCC in the near future.
It should further be noted that while frequency translating repeaters as described above are desirable, the application of frequency translating repeaters are not limited to systems compliant with 802.11a standards. For example, as is well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, 802.11b and 802.11g are standards specifying transmission protocols for 2.4 GHz systems. Products based on these standards may be used with repeaters in at least two ways. For example, in a bridging configuration, a repeater may use any combination of non-overlapping frequency channels such as channel 1, 6, and 11 for standard IEEE based networks. The use of adjacent channels is possible due to the ability to use directional antennas in combination with the repeater, or a reduction in repeater transmission power. In the Basic Service Set (BSS) mode which is a common configuration mode for a typical AP, the two most separated channels, e.g. channels 1 and 11, are used to minimize the impact of the impracticability of directional antennas for such an application. As will be apparent, in addition to 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g applications, the above described frequency translating repeater may also be used in connection with other configurations and in connection with other WLANs and WLAN environments, and other TDD protocols.
In many WLAN environments, an exemplary repeater may have a plurality of APs operating using a number of frequency channels within signal range of the repeater as determined, for example, by the type of communication standard in use. For example, presently there are 11 channels available for use in systems designed in accordance with the 802.11b and 802.11g standards with 3 of the 11 channels non-overlapping and 12 channels for use in systems designed in accordance with the 802.11a standard. Systems designed and operating in accordance with other WLAN standards may allow a different number of channels, or may alter channel availability by increasing or decreasing the number of channels as frequencies become expanded or constricted. It should be noted however, if a repeater is not pre-assigned to operate or “slaved” with a particular AP, difficulties arise since the repeater cannot know which AP to service resulting in feedback problems, erroneous transmissions or significant interference between the repeater or repeaters and various APs in the network.
During initial repeater power-up, the determination of which channels an AP and its repeater operate on may be influenced by, inter alia, regulations. Accordingly, repeater frequency channels may be chosen based on maximum transmit power levels, as allowed by FCC or other regulatory bodies. For example, in the U-NII bands for operation in the United States, the maximum allowable transmit power for CH36-48 is 50 mW, for CH52-64 is 250 mW, and for CH149-161 is 1 W. In an exemplary repeater environment therefore, it is possible to receive a signal on a frequency channel associated with one of the lower power levels and choose a frequency channel on a different band allowing a higher transmit power level to be used for the retransmitted signal. It will further be appreciated that in addition to allowing retransmission of signals at a higher signal power level may relate directly to increased system interference, especially in WLANs with overlapping channels, such as those operating in accordance with 802.11b. Thus the decision regarding which channels an exemplary AP and repeater should select could be pre-programmed during manufacturing. Pre-programming is limited however, in that dynamic approaches associated with, for example, limiting local interference through power adjustment, as described above, can not be as easily achieved with simple pre-programming. Moreover, during operation, an AP may be switched to a different channel after repeater configuration due to interference from a new source or from other unforeseeable problems. For example, if additional WLAN nodes, clients, APs, or the like, are added to an existing WLAN, network optimization may dictate changing certain AP channels. Undesirable consequences arise however in that repeaters originally configured at the physical layer for particular frequency channels and the like, as described above would have to be reconfigured, reconnected, or the like to the AP software.
Further problems and issues with repeater configuration arise in connection with regulations promulgated by the European Union (EU) in the form of 802.11h certification requirements. Accepted mechanisms for satisfying certification requirements include dynamic channel selection and transmit power control. It is further believed that the 802.11h standard will eventually contain unique requirements that will necessitate changes to the current generation of chipsets to enable RADAR detection. Under the proposed standard, a “master” device, such as an AP, would be required to detect the presence of interference from RADAR sources, and generate messaging directing “slave” devices to change to a specified channel. Under the proposed standard, slave devices must receive these messages and follow the directed channel change. Thus a conventional repeater would fail to comply with the proposed standards of detecting the presence of RADAR energy when selecting possible repeating channels.
To effect a frequency change under the proposed standard, an AP would send a message indicating the desired new frequency channel for a station to switch to causing an error condition in the station equipment as the repeater begins operating on the new frequency, and repeating onto another frequency including possibly the frequency channel switched from. A conventional repeater will experience difficulty knowing which channel the AP is on. Thus, as can be seen, it would be preferable for a repeater to be programmed in the field or operating environment to minimize interference, to provide system compatibility, or to optimize other factors when setting up or adjusting the network.
It should be noted that conventional SF repeaters are typically provided to the consumer with configuration software. The AP is loaded with corresponding software which determines the channels used by the AP. Channel information is then communicated by the consumer during initial configuration to the SF repeater to configure the repeater in kind. Problems arise however, in that such systems are difficult to implement for the consumer as they require some basic knowledge, or at least data interpretation, of the WLAN parameters.
It should be appreciated that in general, repeaters will be used where no wired LAN, such as an Ethernet connected LAN or the like, exists to provide a backhaul channel for additional APs. A SF repeater as noted above, consists of a commercial AP with additional software allowing 802.11 packet routing to and from another AP, Station devices, other nodes and the like. SF repeaters are available from various manufacturers including Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose Calif., Intel Corporation of Santa Clara Calif., and the like. It should be noted that the store and forward feature is typically only included in enterprise class APs having a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price averaging around $750. Some residential class store and forward APs are available with a MSRP averaging around $90 and able to perform the SF repeater function.